Forty days and counting! Graduation is sneaking right up on me! I can't believe how fast this semester has gone by, and I am starting to feel a little sad about the end of nursing school (never thought that day would come). Nursing school has been a place where I have found who I am, and who I want to become. It has forced me to make hard decisions and instilled in me the ability to think critically in a variety of instances. I will miss this place, even though I'm ready to take on my role as an RN. I have a little more than two months left and I am ready to make them the best days of my life. My hard work has paid off and I wouldn't trade my situation for anything in the world.

To start off the last days of senior year, I went to National Student Nurses' Convention in Grapevine, Texas. It was an amazing experience that created this surge of independence, this feeling of I can take on anything by myself. I am the future of nursing and this convention helped me see that. Last year, I went to my first convention in Anaheim. It was fun and I learned a lot about the student nursing community, but there is something about this year that made it almost magical. I have never been to Texas and found myself, surprisingly, in love with it. The people, the culture, and the atmosphere were just so inviting. There were thousands of nursing students at the convention this year. It is such a great way to network and make connections for the future. (In fact, at last year's convention, I got introduced to writing for Stressed Out Nurses.)

There were four of us from my college's nursing organization: the president, the treasurer, the secretary, and myself, the vice president. We participated in the Drexel University NCLEX review for three days. The first day's session ran for four hours and the other two days were only for two hours. I have had another NCLEX review (one I wrote about at the beginning of the semester) which wasn't very good. This one was fantastic. I highly recommend doing it. The woman who ran it was fabulous and very thorough.

We attended the plenary sessions every day, and, as usual, some topics were better then others. My favorite was the one about the future of nursing. The President of the ANA spoke to us, providing inspiration that made me proud to be a part of this profession. One thing she said that I found amazing was that, recently, nurses in Ireland were given the authority to prescribe drugs! She said that she hopes the U.S. will take the lead and try enacting something like that someday. I just thought that it was such a huge step for nursing.

The convention wasn't all hard work; I did manage to get a good tan and had the time of my life! I would give anything to be back there for one more day, and not here in reality just yet. I suggest that everyone go to at least on convention in his or her nursing career!

I am so excited about my future, and, at the same time, I am beyond scared. I am one of those people who love to have a plan at all times, but someone very wise recently told me, "You never know what is going to happen." It scared me, but at the same time, it is so true. I can't hold myself back from anything. If I want something badly enough I have to be determined to give 100% of myself to it. I can only hope for the best and never give up on my dreams.

As for now, I'm off to polish up my cover letter . . .

Editor's note: Chelsea is a senior nursing student at small liberal arts college 20 miles outside of Boston. Her column "Last Semester" appears weekly, exclusively on StressedOutNurses.com.